Once my foundation was ready I started working on the modeling of the buildings in the foreground using 3ds Max. That set the right perspective for the characters and the whole infrastructure, despite the lopsided appearance of the slum (Fig.04).

Fig.04

I then opened Photoshop, superposed my 3D render and started a new canvas that was 8000 x 4000 pixels. This was a huge format, but necessary for a poster size! I drew the buildings again, fine-tuned the volumes and started working on the details. I concentrated on the foreground to establish the mood. I added cables and suspended lines to emphasize the disused feeling. I placed a large electric pole on the right side to hang several cables from and to tie together the different parts of the image (Fig.05).

Fig.05

I enriched and added to the painting using pictures from the internet of shanty buildings, light panels, red traffic lights, etc. These images were perfect references to be used in different ways, such as to make brushes. This phase sparked my creativity as the images I picked triggered new ideas. For instance, I particularly liked the wrecks of airplanes and ships, so I thought about placing a huge engine in the middle of the city! Then I thought, "What if there was a monster holding a ship on his shoulder?" Then it hit me to add a black sheep rather than a monster overlooking the city, to point towards the company I was collaborating with to make this image (Fig.06).